Ed Miliband is on course to miss his flagship net zero target by three years because Britain is failing to build enough wind farms, a new report warns. [emphasis, links added]
On current trajectories, the data provider Montel predicts the Energy Secretary will fail to meet his goal of making Britain 95% powered by clean electricity by 2030 and will only hit the milestone in 2033.
The finding is based on an expectation that Britain will fail to construct enough wind farms quickly enough, as well as difficulties in securing financing and expanding grid capacity.
Montel said it expected the Government to achieve its target for solar power.
Failing to hit the target – a centrepiece of Labour’s election manifesto – would leave Mr Miliband exposed to criticism from the Left of his party and green campaigners, who have argued it is not ambitious enough.
At the same time, industry insiders have repeatedly warned that it is unlikely to be achieved in such a short time period.
The Montel report is likely to raise eyebrows following a separate piece of work by the National Energy System Operator, which said Labour’s net zero targets would cost £14bn a year more than less ambitious goals for cutting carbon emissions.
Montel’s report, published on Thursday, says it expects the Government to miss its 2030 clean power target by “at least” 14 gigawatts.
The report blames “difficulty in financing projects, difficulty in building projects, and difficulty in moving power from these new-generation assets to new demand centres” for making the 2030 goal hard to reach.
Rising demand from AI data centres, electric cars, and heat pumps also means “the finishing line is continually getting further away”.
It adds:
“Ultimately, the target will not be met. In the short term, this will be counted as a failure, but in the long term, the mobilisation of an industry to meet the target of a zero-carbon power system will be the real prize. The question is: at what cost to consumers?”
Ministers have repeatedly stood by their targets and insist the clean power mission will bring down consumer bills in the long run by reducing Britain’s exposure to gas prices.
However, businesses are facing increasing pressure over various green levies and network charges that are being added to consumer bills to pay for the net-zero transition.
The Montel report also warns that much of the electricity generated by wind and solar farms at the end of the decade is at risk of going to waste. …snip…
By Dec 2029, it suggests there could be “excess” electricity 48 percent of the time.
The excess power would have to be exported abroad, or curtailed, when generators such as wind farms are paid to switch off so they don’t overwhelm the grid.
In the summer months, there could also be huge gluts of solar generation, which sends prices temporarily negative.
Read full post at The Telegraph
